


Love like you

by cityinagarden



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angst, Demon!Jack, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, Smut, angel!rian, eventually, i dont know how to tag this its my first put up work, it happens folks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 05:25:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15574737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cityinagarden/pseuds/cityinagarden
Summary: How many angels does it take to hide a secret?Of all the ways Alex and Rian had possibly anticipated their lives taking a turn for the wilder, having a drenched demon collapsing on their doorstep wasn't one of them.~Title taken from the Steven Universe song~





	Love like you

**Author's Note:**

> Sup! So, this is my first fic I'm putting on here. Honestly, I just hope you guys like it, because I really do <3
> 
> Chapter title taken from Brother by Gerard Way.

Alex could feel the cracks of thunder inside his bones. That's how loud it was.

 

It was pouring to the high heavens outside his house, with rain so heavy it misted over their surroundings and cut off any hope of seeing outside. A constant torrent of water pelted down the windows, resulting in a steady drumbeat of rain droplets. It had been raining for  _hours._ Since before sunrise, in fact, which meant that the normally golden sky was obscured by disillusioning grey clouds.

He was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, with his hands over his ears, dark eyes peering over the layers of cloth and wool. At every roll of thunder, he shivered, eyes darting outside, attracted by the bright flashes of light like a moth to a flame.

It was  _loud_. Alex didn't like loud.

Rian, on the other hand?

The slightly younger boy was around their apartment as usual, in and out of the kitchen, flopping onto the couch. The rain didn't affect him as much, and neither did the thunder; he loved the sound and the feeling of it, despite the fact that it clumped up his feathers.

Alex made him swear up and down no to go outside in the storm this time, though. They might be sharing the apartment, but Alex wasn't ready to slip on puddles of tracked-in water and bust his skull open just yet.

 

The thunder and rain rocking against Alex's ears almost made him miss the sharp knock on the door.

Even through his hands pressed over his ears, he could hear it. He'd thought it was a part of the storm's symphony at first, but the sound was constant, insistent, and quite frankly sounded like it was about the rattle the door right off its hinges.

"Rian?" Alex called out in the general direction of the rooms, where he'd seen Rian enter last. "Are you expecting someone?"

"In this rain?" Rian called back, poking his head out from the doorway. "Nah, dude. Why?"

"I swear I just heard someone knock at the door..." Alex mused, hands falling from beside his ears, though his shoulders tensed up at the loss of protection against the storm.

Rian cocked his head, listening in the direction of the door over the storm. "You sure, dude? Maybe it was just thu-"

 

And the knocking came again, louder.

Alex stood up, discarding the mound of blankets on the couch and hurrying over to the door. "Someone out there in all this rain?"

Rian approached the door too, crossing his arms curiously as Alex unlocked it, who was still stiff from the loss of his safety blankets.

Alex opened the door, at first flinching at the rain beginning to pelt into his body, and the sound of the storm increasing without the barrier of the closed door, but the tension in his muscles practically dropped away when he saw the source of the knocking. "What-? Hey?"

"What is it?" Rian inquired, coming closer and peering over Alex's shoulder. Then, he blinked. "Oh, shit."

 

There was a demon on their doorstep.

A very soaked, very cold, practically collapsing demon.

Alex and Rian stared at him, then each other, then back at him for a moment or two. Then, a particularly bright strike of lightning glared outside, and Alex yelped, "get him in!"

The two boys helped the completely rain-doused demon inside, before Alex hurriedly rushed to close the door. "Ri, get a towel. Get a few towels, actually."

Rian nodded, disappearing inside. His feathers were ruffled up - he was clearly confused and curious.

Alex turned his attention back to the dripping wet boy on his carpet, who had his wings wrapped around himself - maybe to try and keep the rain and cold out. Or maybe he was shy. Maybe scared. Just the sight of him curled up like that made Alex's heart soften.

"Hey?" Alex made a soft questioning sound. "Hey, can you look at me?" All he could see were the boy's charcoal-dark wings and tail, and flashes of black-and-blond hair. "You're inside now, Ri's gonna get some towels to help you dry off, 'kay?"

A pause hung in the air. Between the two of them, at least. The storm continued to crackle merrily outside.

 

Then, the demon sneezed.

His entire frame shook at the sneeze, and he curled inwards even tighter, a small cry of pain coming from him at the actions.

Rian stepped outside at this moment with the towels, dropping down beside Alex and the unknown boy, draping a big one one over his wings and shoulders gently. He got to work with another smaller one, gently patting slightly drier his soaked jeans.

"Hey," Alex repeated, and his voice was a little firmer this time. "I need you to look up for me. We need to see if you're alright, dude."

The storm continued outside, and even though tension was lacing Alex's muscles, he couldn't get himself to actively care, not now, not when when the storm didn't care about the weak boy in front of him. His eyes flicked over what he could see of his towel and jean-clad frame, and he couldn't help but ponder who exactly was under those wings.  _He seems kind of small. Maybe around our age? What's he doing here? Is he-_

 

And then he looked up, letting his wings fold neatly onto his back, making the towel slip off.

Dark, dark wide eyes, and dual-dyed brown and blonde hair. Thin frame, from what Alex could see. Pale.

Rian winced in sympathy, redraping the towel around him. Slowly, as not to startle him. He'd seen the panicked deer-in-the-headlights look in the boy's fogged over eyes. Gently rubbing his skin dry, the angel's wings fluttered with concern.

"What's your name?" The boy's focus cleared slightly at the question, and he opened his mouth slightly. "S-Sorry?"

"What's your name?" Rian repeated, putting a small towel over the boy's patchily-dyed hair. "I'm Rian, and my friend here is Alex," cueing a hand raised in greeting from Alex, "what's your name?"

The demon gulped, tail curling out a little as he let his tense posture weaken a bit. "'m Jack." His voice was soft, broken by the brunt of the thunderstorm.

"Tell you what, Jack," Rian began, beginning to carefully rub the towel over his bare arms, "how about you just let Alex 'n I dry you off, and then you can rest here, okay? We got an extra bed and spare blankets and shit. It's way too rainy to go back out there"

 

Jack hesitated, but when a particularly high-pitched howl of wind rattled the windowframes in the room, he gulped and nodded. "Okay.."

Alex smiled a little, taking one of the towels. "Can I dry off your wings, Jack?"

The boy nodded after a moment of thought, stretching them out a little. "Sh-Shit, thanks, you two."

Alex shrugged, beginning to pat the towel over Jack's dark wings. "It's okay, man. It's what we do. Just, like, promise not to murder us in our sleep or whatever, and you can stay here till whenever, okay?"

The demon smiled ever so weakly at that. "You got it."

 

After drying Jack off and nestling him onto the couch with a mug of coffee, Rian guided Alex into the kitchen. The thunder and lightening had calmed down, but the rain was still falling in an unending torrent, lulling the atmosphere of the little place into a soft, sleepy one.

"Yo," Rian started. "We have a demon in our house."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "No shit, Ri."

"You know what I _mean_ ," Rian emphasised. "Just... Be careful, Alex."

The older boy frowned, tilting his head curiously. "Are you saying Jack has anything to do with the curse? Just cause he's a demon?"

Rian huffed, putting a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Dude. All I'm saying is, be careful. It's a feeling, you know? One of those feelings."

Alex nodded. He knew Rian was just looking out for him - he'd seen Alex at his very worst low and he'd known enough to know he wanted Alex to be safe. "Yeah. Yeah, I got you, Rian. Don't worry. I'll be careful."

 

Hours later, when the rain was just beginning to let up, and Alex and Rian were sitting opposite the more alert demon now, Alex did feel a slight tug at his gut. It could have been the unending rain, of course - Alex had a huge aversion to loud noises, especially thunder. But the little twist he felt caught him off guard. He hadn't felt a tug like that for months.

He never ignored a tug, and neither did Rian.

Alex's eyes traced the frame of the demon, small under his clothes.

_What twist are you going to throw into our lives by showing up here, Jack?_


End file.
